


Sailor's Knot

by The_Plaid_Slytherin



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin
Genre: Blindfolds, Established Relationship, Kink Exploration, Light Bondage, M/M, Pre-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-22
Updated: 2017-03-22
Packaged: 2018-10-09 03:24:14
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,539
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10402761
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Plaid_Slytherin/pseuds/The_Plaid_Slytherin
Summary: When Stannis finds one of Renly's lewd books, the last thing he expects is to keep it for himself. Davos convinces him otherwise.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Fulfills _Bondage/Shibari_ square for Kinky Bingo. Much thanks to Vana for encouragement and betaing.
> 
>  
> 
>  _"I prefer books with more illuminations. Lord Renly owned a few with drawings that would turn a septon blind."_ \- AFFC, Jaime II

"Ah, Stannis, feeling sociable?" Renly was by the fire when Stannis entered the royal family's sitting room. He was sitting in the chair like he owned the place, one leg thrown over the arm, book balanced on his thigh. 

Stannis frowned. "I was looking for Robert."

"Ah, he's not here." Renly went back to his book. "I knew it had to be something to bring you out of your tower."

Stannis ground his teeth at the reminder of the location of his apartments in one of the gate-side towers. He liked the privacy, certainly, but he resented the distance from Maegor's Holdfast and the view of the filthy streets below. "Do you know when he'll be back?"

"No. And it's none of my present concern." Renly rose lazily and tossed his book onto the table. "The night is young, Stannis. I'm going out. Is it even worth asking you to join me?"

"No thank you," he said, trying to be cordial. He was afraid of where Renly might have invited him. 

"Suit yourself." Renly breezed past him. "If you're waiting for Robert, you'll be waiting a long time."

Stannis sat in the chair Renly had just vacated. He didn't want to stay here, nor did he want to return to his empty quarters, for Davos, too, was out, although surely not where Renly was going. He sighed and reached for the book on the table. At least he could satisfy his curiosity over what sort of book Renly would be reading.

He turned it over to see its title and nearly dropped it. 

The binding had seemed innocuous, but now he saw the letters twined across the cover spelling out _Erotic Pleasures of the East_. 

At that moment, the door opened, and Stannis stood automatically. Cersei entered, Myrcella and Tommen in tow. 

She stopped when she saw him, obviously displeased. "Stannis," she said coolly. 

Stannis bowed stiffly. "Good evening." That was when he realized he was still holding Renly's book and it was that which she was inspecting with raised eyebrows. He slipped it behind his back so the children would not see.

"Will you sit with us, Uncle Stannis?" Myrcella asked. "We are going to play a game."

"Not tonight. I have urgent business." He bid his niece and nephew good night, though Cersei only watched him sternly. 

Stannis stalked back to his quarters, cursing Renly for having gotten him in this situation. How had he carelessly left the rotten book behind?

He would destroy it. Then he would give Renly a talking-to. It was too risky; surely Renly was likely to leave it lying about again and now that Cersei had seen him with it, Stannis would be blamed. 

He yanked the door to his sitting room open and marched over to the fireplace. He opened the book with a jerk in order to start tearing out pages and feeding them to the fire. 

As he did, he could not help looking at the contents.

Every page had an inappropriate illustration, depicting two (or more) men engaged in indecent acts. Stannis squirmed. Where had Renly learned of such things? 

Stannis turned another page, forgetting to tear them out. Men locked in amorous embraces, men lying with each other on beds and other places. He swallowed hard, thinking of Davos, imagining them in these positions. Could he ask Davos to take him over a table? Would it even be possible for them to go alone into the Kingswood for this purpose? He felt his ears grow hot. The person who had drawn these pictures must have had personal experience in these matters. He lowered himself onto the couch, all thoughts of literary destruction forgotten as his breeches tightened. 

So wrapped up was he that he did not notice the door opening, heralding Davos' return.

"Good evening, my lord. What are you reading?" Davos came up behind him and leaned over the back of the couch to kiss his cheek. Stannis jumped and snapped the book shut, even though the words _EROTIC PLEASURES_ seemed to spring from the cover with an unsettling boldness. Luckily, Davos could not read them.

"Nothing," he said, trying casually to conceal his rapidly receding erection with a pillow. "Something for Robert. Taxes." If there was one subject Davos was inveterately uncurious about, it was taxes. "How was your friend?"

"It was good to see him. We had a lot of catching up to do, and he had many tales of his travels. It almost made me miss my sailing days." He came around to sit next to Stannis. "Not that I am not perfectly content to be here with you." 

Stannis grunted and slid away, still unable to get the images he'd just been looking at out of his mind and not wanting Davos to know what he'd been thinking about. "Are you tired? Should we go to bed?"

"We can. If you're finished with your taxes, my lord."

"I'm finished." He shoved the book away, onto a side table. He would dispose of it the next morning. Instead, in his haste, he missed the table entirely and the book fell open on the floor, its contents apparent even to an unlettered man. 

"If this is how one pays his taxes, I don't think I ever would have been a smuggler," Davos remarked, retrieving the book from the floor. It had fallen open to an image Stannis had long lingered on—a man bound in ropes. 

Stannis snatched the book back. "I found it. I was going to get rid of it." The book remained open on his lap and he glanced down at it occasionally as he related the tale. Why was he unable to simply destroy the cursed thing? He ought to toss it into the fire. 

"Certainly you did good to remove it from where children could see it," Davos said, "but I can see no harm in our looking at it." He slid closer to Stannis and rested his chin on his shoulder. "If it would please you, my lord."

Stannis shuddered as the heat rushed back to between his legs. Davos could see exactly what he'd been looking at and probably knew what he was thinking. His eyes roved again over the bound man and the knowing look on the face of the man who held the ropes. He thought of how he longed to see Davos standing over him, that expression on his face. "No," he said, drawing on all his willpower to close the book. "Bed. At least for me. I will not stop you if you wish to look at it yourself."

He rose and Davos followed him into the bedroom. They didn't speak as they undressed and got under the covers, but right before he blew out the candle, Davos slid over. 

"I meant what I said, my lord. If you wanted to try anything like that, I would be willing, if not eager."

"No thank you." He kissed him, in that firm way he always did when he was trying to communicate that a matter was closed. "Good night, Davos."

"Good night, my lord."

Sleep did not come so easily, however. Stannis lay stiffly beside the soundly sleeping Davos, running through his fantasy again and again until he finally fell into a fitful sleep. 

The next morning, Stannis woke to find the other side of the bed empty. When he opened the bed curtains, he saw Davos was sitting by the window, looking at the book.

"Are you actually interested in that thing?" he asked, sitting up and pushing the covers aside.

"I find it rather enlightening, my lord. If you don't mind."

Stannis shrugged. "Do as you wish." He went about dressing without saying another word, though he was conscious all the while of Davos slowly turning pages. He tried not to imagine what he might have been thinking about what he saw.

Davos thankfully left the book behind to join him at the breakfast table, but when they were finished, he said, "Have you need of me this morning, my lord?"

"No. I'm only going to attend the council meeting."

"I shall be here if you want me, then." Davos kissed him good-bye and went to the window seat, taking up the book again. 

Stannis stared at him for a long moment before departing and when he was crossing the courtyard to Maegor's Holdfast, he glanced back over his shoulder to find Davos' form outlined against the window. He turned quickly away before anyone could see him staring and hurried on his way.

He barely paid any attention in the council meeting. He did not confront Renly about the book. What could he say when he'd given the filthy thing to Davos? 

Instead, he stormed back up to his quarters, trying not to grind his teeth. Davos was still cozily ensconced just where he'd left him. He looked up when Stannis came in.

"Could you read this for me, my lord?" he asked, holding out the book. "A man need not have his letters to understand most of this book, but this—I would know what this says right here."

It was the page had been fixated on the night before, of the bound man. Stannis had not read the text on the facing page before. He cleared his throat. "'Lovers can find pleasure in binding each other. Some forms are considered an art in the Free Cities. But anyone who is so inclined can try it. One needs only some…" He stumbled here, uncomfortable aware of how carefully Davos was listening. "…some rope and a willing subject. The more complex efforts are best left to the experienced.'"

"Does this interest you, my lord?" Davos rose from his seat and pressed his body against Stannis'. 

Stannis could not answer. He was totally focused on the depths of Davos' eyes, the hand creeping onto his shoulder. "Tell me what you think." 

Davos' hand moved to the back of Stannis' neck, stroking slowly. "I think it might be a welcome diversion," he allowed.

Stannis looked down at the book and then up at Davos. Perhaps it _would_ be… diverting to try something new. He had always been perfectly content with their regular routine in the bedroom, but there was nothing stopping them from trying this.

"All right." He gave Davos an assessing look. "You may tie me up." 

If Davos was surprised by this, he didn't show it. "I'll gather some supplies tomorrow," he said, giving Stannis a peck on the lips, as though this was any ordinary task Stannis had asked him to perform.

**

The next day, it rained. Stannis sat impatiently through yet another council meeting, at last knowing how Robert felt every day. When the meeting finally ended, he was the first one out of the room, but he need not have hurried. Davos wasn't there. Stannis slumped in disappointment as he shut the door. Davos had said he was procuring supplies, but Stannis had no idea where. He went to the window seat to watch for him. His quarters might not have had prestigious placement, but at least he had a good view of the gate.

Lulled to senselessness by the rain on the windowpanes, Stannis did not note the passage of time until he saw a green-cloaked figure pass through the postern gate. He sat up straighter. The figure passed through the door below and, a few moments later, he heard boots on the stairs. 

He rose as Davos entered. 

"Ah, I apologize for making you wait, my lord." Davos set down the sack he carried—Stannis' eyes were drawn to it instantly. What could be in it? "I found myself delayed." He took off his cloak and went to warm himself at the fire. 

"Where were you?" Stannis was still looking at the bag.

Davos smiled knowingly; Stannis' attentions were not lost on him. "The Street of Silk. I was directed to a little shop there and was assured of its utmost discretion."

Heat flooded Stannis' face. "I should hope so."

Davos came over to him and slipped his arms around Stannis' neck. "As do I, as I have a mind to patronize the place again if we enjoy this."

Stannis frowned. "Let us try it first and see if we do enjoy it."

"Certainly." Davos stepped back. "Shall we begin?"

A shiver of anticipation he could not suppress ran down Stannis' spine. "If you like."

Davos' smile told him exactly what he liked. "I think the bed would be an appropriate place to begin." 

Stannis allowed himself to be guided into the bedroom. They seldom planned it like this; more often than not, they would already be in bed and one of them would reach for the other. He was not used to the preparation, realizing as Davos set his sack down by the bed that he did not know what to do.

Stannis looked down at the rug.

Davos smiled, as though he could read his mind. "Why don't you get undressed, my lord?"

"Of course." Stannis quickly busied himself pulling off his boots and setting them off to the side. He cast a glance up at Davos as he began unlacing his doublet. He was taking something out of the sack, but Stannis couldn't tell what it was. He turned resolutely away, heart racing. The anticipation of what was to come made this entirely a different experience than that of feeling Davos' lips brush his shoulder in the night. He pulled his shirt off over his head and pulled down his breeches and hose. 

Now he felt even more foolish standing in the middle of the room stark naked. 

"And onto the bed," Davos prompted, still smiling. Stannis lay down, and Davos knelt on the mattress, aligning his body over top of Stannis'.

"Aren't you going to get undressed?"

"Eventually." Davos kissed him, fingers stroking his face, and Stannis forgot to be bothered that Davos still had his clothes on. Davos kept the pace of their kisses slow, forcing Stannis to chase each one. 

"Mm." He made a muffled noise that was not quite speech and reached for the back of Davos' neck. 

Deftly, Davos caught Stannis' wrists in his left hand and pressed them back over his head. There was no question that if he had wanted to, Stannis could have thrown Davos off, slight as he was, but the thought never crossed his mind. He trusted Davos. 

And he found there was something arousing about being held down. Davos' grip was not tight, but it was enough for Stannis to know he was restrained. It was _intentional_. 

"Do you like this, my lord?" Davos breathed in his ear. 

The title seemed carefully applied, too, to make Stannis shiver. He could not answer. All he could think about was Davos' right hand, which moved from his jaw, down his neck, and over his chest. His hands were rough from years of salt air, and the touch sent the pool of warmth straight to his cock. 

Davos was straddling him, but he didn't touch Stannis' cock, and it was clear from the pressure of his hand on Stannis' wrist that taking himself in hand was not an option. 

"I like it," he said.

"Good." Davos kissed his brow. "Then we can try the ties. That will free my hands for other things." 

Davos having his hands free for other things sounded obscenely wonderful. Stannis didn't move as Davos climbed off him and began to strip himself. Stannis watched intently as Davos methodically unlaced his doublet and let it fall from his shoulders. The shirt followed next, pulled off in such a way that put Stannis in mind of the dancing girls Robert had once hired for the great hall. Stannis had paid them no mind at the time, but now he wondered if Davos had ever seen such a thing, perhaps in his travels. 

Without thinking, he let his hand creep down toward his cock.

Davos glanced over his shoulder at him, and Stannis withdrew his hand instantly. "If you do that, my lord, you'll miss what I have planned."

"Of course." Stannis rested his hands behind his head. "Let us see it."

Davos bent over the sack, giving Stannis a tantalizing view of his arse. "This seems a good time to begin, though." When he straightened up, Stannis could see he was holding a rope. He was somewhat relieved to see it wasn't something fit for a ship's rigging, but he wondered what sort of things were sold in the little shop in the Street of Silk. 

The cords Davos used to bind Stannis' wrists were surprisingly soft and his sailor's hands still deft.

"I hope you can untie that," Stannis said. 

"Of course." Davos kissed his forehead. "If not, I have my knife."

Stannis's heart began to beat somewhat faster at the prospect of such a predicament. He truly had to put his faith in Davos, he realized. There was no way he could free himself if Davos were to leave him. He would have to summon a servant and have his humiliation spread throughout the castle, if not all of Westeros. Or he would need to call for one his brothers. He did not know which would be worse. 

Davos nuzzled his cheek. "Are you all right?" 

"Perfectly all right." He tried to reach down to touch Davos' hair, a familiar response to that gesture, but of course he could not. Before Stannis had quite realized this, Davos was moving down his body. He had another set of cords in his hand and the ends trailed lightly down Stannis' chest and belly. Stannis squirmed, left leg kicking involuntarily as Davos let the cord touch the tip of his cock. 

"That's easy to fix," Davos said critically. He gathered Stannis' ankles and began to tie them, too. His head was bent in concentration, his hair hiding his face. Stannis had the urge to brush it back, but of course, he could not do that either. He tried to pull his wrists apart. Even though he had no present desire to be untied, it was strangely satisfying.

"There," Davos said, setting Stannis' bound ankles down on the bed. Stannis tried to move them; he couldn't. Davos looked rather pleased with his handiwork. "It seems I still know every knot Roro Uhoris ever taught me." 

"I'm sure he didn't intend you to use them for this purpose."

Davos shrugged. "I am not so sure of that, my lord. Roro liked his women." 

Before Stannis even had a chance to respond to that, Davos was gone, standing up to remove his breeches. Stannis watched intently as they were pushed down over bony hips. 

_If only I could move_ , he thought. He had visions of himself pinning Davos to the bed, his tongue lavishing attention on the hollows there. 

And then once his clothes were out of the way, there was his cock, bobbing free. There was more in the sack. Stannis watched with bated breath as Davos rummaged about in it. What else could he have bought? 

"Ah, yes. She convinced me to get this, the woman at the shop." Davos was approaching the bed again, a length of silk in his hands. 

"What more could you possibly tie up?" Stannis was quickly growing tired of Davos not touching him, or allowing Stannis to touch his cock. 

"A blindfold, my lord, if you'd be willing." Davos let the silk fall against Stannis' throat. It made him shiver. 

"I would be willing." He didn't quite know what he was agreeing to, but he still trusted Davos. Davos always had good ideas for this sort of thing. He lifted his head and Davos brought the blindfold down over his eyes. Some of Stannis' hair caught in the knot in back, but it was a pleasant tug, and not exactly painful. 

"Now then." Davos' voice was very close to his ear, raising the hairs on the back of his neck. "How is that?"

Stannis squirmed, feeling exposed. Yes, he'd had Davos inside him; he knew Davos was intimately familiar with every inch of him. But until now, he had always been able to see Davos looking at him, had always known where his eyes were straying. Now he could only guess where his scrutiny was directed.

"Not too tight?" 

"No."

"Good." Davos' breath was on his face. "Now we can get started."

Stannis thought they were already started, but he wasn't about to argue with the man whose mouth was pressed to his neck. Teeth grazed sensitive skin as Davos kissed his way down to Stannis' collarbone. 

Once more, Stannis longed to get his hands free. He wanted to hold Davos' head in place, imagined plunging his fingers into his hair to gently redirect him to the places he most wanted attention.

But Davos knew very well where Stannis' most sensitive spots were and he avoided them studiously. Not being able to see him only heightened the intensity of each touch of Davos' lips, teeth, and tongue.

"Mm." The sound escaped his lips before he could stop it. Stannis had always preferred to stay quiet during sex; at least, he had never been particularly driven to make much noise, no matter how much Davos had tried.

There was a pause. Stannis could visualize Davos' satisfied smile, and he gritted his teeth, determined not to give Davos the satisfaction of making him do it again.

Davos' next kiss came on Stannis' breastbone, and again, he moved slowly downward to the soft, sensitive skin of his stomach. Stannis moaned again, and tugged at his bindings. He didn't know why he kept doing this, how he could possibly forget the soft cords that rubbed against his wrists, save the desire to touch Davos. 

Davos paused, his beard soft against Stannis' bare skin. "What was that, my lord?"

Stannis chose not to dignify that with a response. 

Davos laid his cheek against Stannis' stomach. "I could gag you. You do remember those pictures, don't you?" He nipped lazily at Stannis' skin. 

"I do _not_ ," Stannis said firmly, "want to be gagged."

"Then I imagine you'll have to try to be quieter." Davos' tongue lapped at Stannis' navel. "Or you can be as loud as you like. I certainly won't mind."

Stannis squirmed, trying very hard to keep from crying out. The warm wetness of Davos' mouth was the only thing in the world he was focused on. He'd seen this enough times to have it memorized—Davos' head bent over his work, the ends of his hair brushing Stannis' belly. 

His hips bucked unwittingly and he drew his bound feet up on the bed. "Gods!" He instantly regretted it. Since when did he take that sort of oath? Or any oath?

Davos pressed Stannis' hips down firmly. "Do you want something, my lord?"

This was torture. He should not have tolerated it. If anyone should know what he was allowing his man to do to him… 

Stannis smiled, despite himself. But they wouldn't understand, would they? How immensely satisfying it was to live with Davos this way. It was different than Robert and his whores, or Renly and whoever Renly had. 

"No," he said. "Keep going."

Davos' next kiss landed on his inner thigh, slowly heading toward their denouement. When Davos' mouth at last took his cock, Stannis could no longer keep his own shut. The sounds leaving it weren't exactly words—it was a mixture of syllables and paeans to Davos, the only one who could deliver him from this agony.

A tight seal, a hard suck—Stannis couldn't keep still either, though he felt vaguely guilty to make Davos keep up with his squirming. 

"Mm, had a feeling you would like this," Davos murmured, releasing him to kiss the tip of his cock, to lap away the fluid beginning to form there. "And you look marvelous—bound." His tongue lazily circled the head of Stannis' cock. 

Stannis lay still and dropped his hands back above his head in the hopes of preserving the image Davos liked. Davos' tongue on his cock was still moving slow, and Stannis curled his toes, sliding his heels back up the bed.

"Davos," he muttered, low. "Davos." 

Davos gave a murmur of assent and took Stannis properly in his mouth again nearly just in time. Stannis let the intensity of his climax wash over him, though he thought he might later regret the loud, indistinct shout he had allowed himself. His hips moved until he was truly spent, and it seemed an age before he collapsed against the mattress, not even having noticed his blindfold had been knocked askew.

Davos was at the foot of the bed, an extremely satisfied look on his face, his hair tousled.

"Come here," Stannis ordered. He didn't wait for Davos to answer before he pushed himself into a sitting position so he could lower his mouth over Davos' cock. His hands were still bound awkwardly behind him, and one eye was still obscured, but he was eager to show Davos his appreciation. 

" _Oh_ ," Davos groaned, tugging at Stannis' hair. He could feel the tips of the shortened fingers brush against his scalp right beside the nails of the other hand, and he sucked harder, wanting to taste Davos' seed. He knew when Davos was about to climax by the way he moved his hands over Stannis' head and he leaned forward to take Davos as deep as he dared until he felt his body tense.

When Davos, too, was spent, Stannis unfolded himself and collapsed onto his back. He was conscious now of his inability to free himself from his bindings and his shoulders were beginning to stiffen. Davos watched him, looking a bit boneless before he seemed to realize this as well, moving quickly to undo first Stannis' wrists, and then his ankles.

"You did well with the knots." Stannis rubbed his wrists, though they were not chafed. It had been a soft rope.

"A sailor does know his knots." Davos stretched out next to Stannis on the bed, pressing his toes into the back of Stannis' leg. "I'm sure you can tie a good knot, my lord." He pulled the blindfold fully from Stannis' eyes and tossed it aside.

"Aye, but I do not benefit from a lifetime of learning the art." 

Davos' chin landed on Stannis' shoulder and he slipped an arm around this man who still mystified him. "Then you would continue to rely on me for the knots, my lord?"

"Surely."

"A good plan." Davos nuzzled at his neck. "I would also let you know, my lord, that the bag is not yet emptied."

Stannis felt an odd prickling in his spine. Perhaps he had been in that position for too long. "What else did you find in that shop?" 

Davos smiled tantalizingly. "You might guess if you had looked at more pages in that book than just the one, my lord."

Stannis let out a deep breath. That accursed book. Well, it seemed there was no harm in their holding on to it. Renly surely would have given up looking for it by now.


End file.
